Something that all Black people who reach a level of success (attainment of education, wealth, capital, all of the above) are ultimately faced with another person (99.9% of the time, another Black person) who tells them that they need to give back. While the idea is good, it never really sat well with me.
Through-out my life I have been blessed with above average intelligence (for the most part). Because of this I ended up in classes that were dubbed ‘Advanced’. By the time I got to senior year these advanced classes were for the most part completely devoid of color (not because Black kids are dumber, or learn differently…which is all BS made up to keep our people in a perpetual state of victimized welfare, but because too many non-African Black parents either can’t, don’t, or won’t push their children as hard as they need to be pushed academically…but that is another blog for another time.) So growing up, it is easy to see that I most of my best friends happened to be white people. I had more classes with them, and we shared similar interests and senses of humor. Getting to know these White friends, I also got to know their families as well from spending most of the time at their houses (mostly because my dad was an anti-social hermit when it came to people outside of his circle of friends…which is what I aspire to be one day if my current plans don’t work out). These are the people that have helped me out a lot in my life. In fact about 90% (most likely higher) of the people outside my family who have truly helped me out in my short life have been White people. One question I pose is that if I am giving back should I do so to the community that accepted me as the person I was, or the community that did not accept me as a person, but happens to need more help? A lot of people also blindly believe that all Black people that are successful must have grown up in the hood with no lights and an abundance of roaches. I don’t know the actual statistic, but I bet at least half of the Blacks who are successful today come from at least a moderately educated or successful family background. I pose another, yet similar question to the last one; do these people have to give back to a poor black community of which they were never a part?
NOTE: I ALREADY KNOW HOW I WOULD ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS. I’M CURIOUS AS TO WHAT YOU ALL THINK.
Another aspect I don’t particularly care for about this ‘giving back’ business is how it is portrayed in the media. I don’t like how, they always shift focus towards some millionaire douchebag athlete who donates a million dollar gym to his alma mater so that high schoolers (who happen to be more often than not Black) can work on their handle and ‘tap on cats’. There are plenty of professional athletes that do good things like Chris Duhon (who will likely never be an NBA all-star…or have an NBA all-star paycheck for that matter) starts up a service to help Katrina victims and invests not only his own money (did I mention that Darryl ‘ambulance chaser’ Issacs probably makes more money than this man) but his own time in assisting the victims. Or Warrick Dunn who started and finances a charity that builds houses for single, low-income mothers so that they won’t have to worry about a safe place for their children to sleep. But no…people like Vincanity (Vince Carter) get honored with the Nobel Prize for teabags (balls to the face, this is obviously an exaggeration because I’d quit Earth if this was made into a Nobel Prize category). But this is the media, and I take almost everything I obtain from it with a shot of moonshine…and I don’t drink.
I bring this topic up because of two reasons. One is because of one of the points brought up on Obama’s service initiative. He proposes making every middle-schooler and high schooler complete 50 hours of service a year. While service does build moral fiber I would never want to be forced into doing community service. The point of doing it (aside from getting arrested and wanting an easy way out of the path of Bubba’s gauntlet) is to grow as a person because it is something that one wants to do to give back to their community. Forced servitude (not slavery so I don’t want to hear it) will negate that aspect of community service. In Kentucky (unless things have changed since I have graduated) you had the option to complete at least 20 hours as one of your graduation requirements (Needless to say I was an evil person and didn’t do that one). Having an option in this case is a good idea. The second reason is indirectly because of my friend. After class she always wants to go down and steal candy from the freshman orientation booths. The last booth we happened to stop by was some diversity, multicultural, blah, blah, really good thing, but I’m bitter about stuff-type thing. She started asking my friend about how her school year was and turned her evil diversity initiative face towards me. The conversation more or less went something like this.
NOTE: I USE WOMAN AS A SIGN OF RESPECT FOR FEMALES WHO HAPPEN TO BE OF AGE. FEMALES I DON’T REALLY RESPECT THAT ARE OF AGE WILL GET SKEEZER, OR CHICK, OR BROAD (SOMETIMES SPELT BRAWD). IT DOESN’T MEAN THAT SHE IS OLD.
Woman at the booth: D*mn you’re sexy, father my children.
Me: Can’t I have a girlfriend.
Woman at the booth: Oh, well I never see you around. Do you know about (random diversity program)?
Me: Yeah, I was going to do it, but I’m too old. I’m going to graduate in May ‘09.
Woman at the booth: Oh…you know you can still mentor. Do you know about our mentoring program?
Me: *uggg, here it comes* No, I don’t. What is it?
Woman at the booth: You take a freshman, show them the ropes, are there for them when they need your help, cook them waffles at 3:00 AM in the morning, give advice, show them around, hang out with them. You know!
Me: Oh, ok…I’ll get back to you.
Woman at the booth: Ok, here is a pamphlet. You can reach blah,blah,blah suchandsuch at this number.
Me: *yeah right* Ok. I’ll hit her up.
Woman at the booth: Cool. Remember…GIVE BACK!
Perhaps I’m reading too much into what she said. But the way I heard it, she most likely assumed that I was here on the lucrative minority scholarship that they give out just for not being white. So she thought she had the jurisdiction to tell me what to do. Doesn’t she know I’m grown? I actually pay millions (not really…I wish I had millions) to go here of my own accord. I was not recruited, nor did I care about this place until I got here. How dare she?! Yes, I know she had good intentions I’m just pulling your leg…but the fact still remains that it is a complex dilemma between what others what one to do and what one feels they should do when dealing with ‘giving back’.
